SoftBank-backed AI startup Peak raises $75m in second funding round in six months August 31, 2021 Manchester-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) provider Peak will expand into new global markets after raising $75m in its latest funding round, led by SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund Two. Peak AI, which sells its “decision intelligence” enterprise software platform to non-tech companies to help with their operations, plans to use the latest raise to double its workforce [...]
AI startup Onfido considers listing in New York instead of London June 27, 2021 The British digital identity startup is reportedly considering a stateside IPO over a London listing, due to rapid business growth in North America. London-headquartered Onfido has begun swapping British accounting standards for American, in preparation for a “potential US IPO in the near future”, The Telegraph first reported. The AI startup, which helps firms like Microsoft, [...]
T-Shaped Teams and the Three Stages of AI Adoption June 22, 2021 | City Talk AI and data science will probably bring about the most significant changes to the financial services industry that the industry has witnessed in its short history. Yet, today, many financial institutions are still struggling to find their way to start the AI journey1. We propose a concept called T-shaped teams (See Exhibit 1) as the [...]
Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, and the Future of Investing June 1, 2021 | City Talk Witnessing the recent GameStop event, it was clear that for better or worse, the little guy, or many, many little guys, had briefly beaten Wall Street at its own game. While GameStop was fuelled primarily by the collective action of many, the voice of only one person, echoed by others, can have similar influence. For [...]
Regulating the robots – unpacking the EU’s new AI Regulation May 11, 2021 | City Talk The European Commission recently publish a first draft of its new Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Regulation). The AI Regulation covers both Providers (i.e. developers) and business Users of AI systems. Providers have a broad set of obligations owed to Users. Under the AI Regulation, AI systems are categorised as: – Prohibited: certain “manipulative” and “exploitative” uses of AI are outlawed [...]
EU sets out plans to curb facial recognition in Big Brother crackdown April 21, 2021 The EU has set out plans to regulate the use of “risky” artificial intelligence (AI) such as facial recognition with hefty fines for companies that breach the rules. The draft rules, published by the European Commission today, mark the first international efforts to curb the use of technology that critics warn could be used by [...]
Bitcoin highlights the opportunity for sustainable data processing March 9, 2021 | City Talk The price of Bitcoin is not the only thing that is surging. According to an analysis by Cambridge University and reported on by BBC News, the computer processing power that is now required to “mine” the cryptocurrency is 126.35 terawatt-hours each year. Or put another way: if Bitcoin was a country, it would be in [...]
Debate: Should AI become a regulated technology? February 15, 2021 It’s set to transform most aspects of our lives, but AI is still barely understood – and barely regulated. Is it time? Prasad Ramakrishnan, CIO of Freshworks says YES AI has always been important, but we’re moving from theory and setup to practice as we deliver practical and actionable recommendations – and that’s really exciting. [...]
‘Robots will take our jobs’: Eigen boss Lewis Liu on the future of the City worker January 26, 2021 It’s very rare a chief executive will say their work will lead to mass job cuts, not least one of an artificial intelligence firm. But Eigen Technologies’ Lewis Liu is not like your everyday boss. He is surprisingly frank in an industry that does an impressive job of spinning mass job cuts. “I’m not going [...]
Metrica Sports: Meet the tech company which works with FC Barcelona giving away its football analytics software to amateurs January 13, 2021 Barcelona were one of Metrica Sports’ first clients but it was when the video and data analysis provider signed up Stockport County that its founders knew they were really onto something. The company, created in 2013 by three football-mad neuroscience PhD students, proved quick to gain a foothold with a handful of elite clubs thanks [...]